Fra Dolcino (ca. 1250 – 1307) was an Italian preacher burnt at the stake in 1307, and often described as being a heretic inspired by the Franciscan theories. The 1250s is the decade starting January 1, 1250 and ending December 31, 1259. ... Events July - The Knights Hospitaller begin their conquest of Rhodes. ... Events July - The Knights Hospitaller begin their conquest of Rhodes. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ...

The origins of Fra Dolcino and his real name are a subject of constant debate among historians, the tradition of the last centuries says he belonged to the Tornielli family, while the Inquisition pretends he was the illigitimate son of a priest fleed from Vercelli to escape punition for some small burglaries. Recent researches of Orioli^[1] presents a plausible theory on the argument: the paper of the Anonymous Syncronous^[2] written shortly after the facts, identifies him as nomine Dulcinus, filius presbyteri Iulii de Tarecontano Vallis Ossole diocesis Novariensis (name Dulcinus, son of presbyter Jules from Tarecontano of the Ossola Valley in the diocese of Novara); a few years later Bernardo Gui^[3] in his work reports the same information changing the word presbyteri in sacerdos (priest) thus concluding that he was the illigitimate son of a priest. The research of Orioli shows that De Julio Presbitero was the name of a wealthy family of Vercelli belonging to the Ghibellines often married with members of the Tornielli family of the nearby Novara, also Ghibellines, so he proposes that he could be the son of a couple of members of both families. Dolcino left Vercelli between 1280 and 1290 to follow the Apostolics after being caugth as a thief according to Bernardo Gui who does not present any proof of this, the researches of Orioli shows that in the same period the figths between Guelphs and Ghibellines caused many victims on both sides and this could better explain his decision to join the initially pacifist movement of Segarello. Besides he wrote his letters in a culturated latin and showed profound knowledge of religious matters to a point that makes many historians suppose he began the ecclesiastic studies at a young age and this was certainly impossible for the illigitimate son of a priest. Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, a synonym of episkopos, which has come to mean bishop. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ... Novara is a city of northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. ... Bernard Gui (1261 or 1262 – 30 December 1331), also known as Bernardo Gui or Bernardus Guidonis, was an inquisitor of the Dominican Order in the Late Middle Ages during the Medieval Inquisition, Bishop of Lodève, and one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages. ... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ... Country Italy Region Piedmont Province Province of Vercelli (VC) Mayor Andrea Corsaro (since 2004-06-27) Elevation 130 m Area 79 km² Population  - Total (as of 2004-12-04) 44,967  - Density 569/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Vercellesi Dialing code 0161 Postal code 13100 Patron Eusebius... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in central and northern Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries. ...

Fra Dolcino and Margaret were never trialed by the Church, after his capture the Bishop of Vercelli consulted with the Inquisition and other eminent people to decide an immediate execution (in fact the acts of the trial were never found despite some suggests they could be hidden somewhere in the secret archives of the Vatican) so the paper of the Anonymous Synchronous, probably written by a follower or a local symphatizer of the Dulcinian, the one of of Bernardo Gui and another anonymous paper^[4](probably also written by Bernardo Gui) are the only documents we have that were written in the same period the facts took place. It has been suggested that Valid Bishops be merged into this article or section. ...

According to the church of Rome and most historians of the period he and his followers, in reaction to attacks by Catholic troops, became criminals (today they would be probably called guerrilla fighters), who would not hesitate, for their own survival, to plunder and devastate villages, killing any who opposed them, and burning their houses. He justified every evil action committed by his followers in this period citing Saint Paul (Epistle to Titus 1:15): To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are corrupted.^[5] Catholic Church redirects here. ... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Paul of Tarsus, also known as Paul the Apostle or Saint Paul (AD 3–14 — 62–69),[1] is widely considered to be central to the early development and spread of Christianity, particularly westward from Jerusalem. ... The Pastoral Epistles are often considered together, as each throws light upon the others. ...

Despite this, he was considered to be one of the reformers of the Church and one of the founders of the ideals of the French revolution and socialism ^[6]. In particular he was positively reevaluated toward the end of the XIX century and was dubbed the Apostle of the Socialist Jesus^[7] and thus in 1907 left wing workers of Biella and the Sesia Valley erected a monument on the place of its last resistance. The monument was later (1927) destroyed by the Fascists. The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a pivotal period in the history of French, European and Western civilization. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ...

Fra Dolcino, a former member, became in 1300 the leader of the movement of Apostolics, and influenced by the millenarist theories of Gioacchino da Fiore give the birth to the Dulcinian movement, which existed between the years 1300 – 1307. It tragically ended in the mountains in Sesia Valley and in the Biella area, in Piemonte, Italy on the 23 March 1307 when many crusaders (multi crucesignati) finally conquered the fortification built on the mount Rubello by the Dulcinians. Events February 22 - Jubilee of Pope Boniface VIII. March 10 - Wardrobe accounts of King Edward I of Englanddo (aka Edward Longshanks) include a reference to a game called creag being played at the town of Newenden in Kent. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Apostolici. ... Millenarianism or millenarism is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society after which all things will be changed in a positive (or sometimes negative or ambiguous) direction. ... Joachim of Fiore, also known as Joachim of Flora and in Italian Gioacchino da Fiore (1135 - 1201), was the founder of monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore. ... The Dulcinian movement was a heretic movement inspired by the Franciscans ideals, influenced by the Joachimites and derived from the Apostolics. ... Sesia is a river in north-western Italy, tributary to the Po River. ... Biella (Latin: Bugella) is a town and comune in the northern Italian region of Piemonte, the capital of the province of the same name, with 45,500 inhabitants as of the 2001 census. ... Piedmont is a region of northwestern Italy. ...

His main ideas were the following ^{[citation needed]}:

1. Opposition to the ecclesiastical hierarchy and return of the Church to its original ideals of humility and poverty.
2. Opposition to the feudal system.
3. Human liberation from any restraint and from entrenched power.
4. Organization of one equal society, of mutual aid and respect, holding property in common, and respecting equality between sexes.

He was considered to be an intelligent, erudite and charismatic speaker. He expressed his ideas in a series of letters he wrote to the Apostolics on 1300-1307. Ecclesiology is that branch of Christian theology that deals with the doctrine pertaining to the Church: its role in salvation, and its origin, its discipline, and its leadership. ... Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ...

Dante Alighieri in his The Divine Comedy mentions Dolcino as being soon awaited in Hell (Inferno XXVIII) in a passage that expresses the admiration of the poet for Dulcino's desperate defense of mount Rubello but does not imply approval of his operative ideas. Durante degli Alighieri, better known as Dante Alighieri or simply Dante, (c. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Michelinos fresco. ...

He is mentioned often in Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose. The dialogue between the narrator Adso and the old priest Ubertino, tell us the story of Fra Dolcino leaving much to the imagination of the reader. Photo of Umberto Eco by Robert Birnbaum Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose and his many essays. ... The Name of the Rose, a novel by Umberto Eco, is a murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327. ...

References

Bernard Gui (1261 or 1262 – 30 December 1331), also known as Bernardo Gui or Bernardus Guidonis, was an inquisitor of the Dominican Order in the Late Middle Ages during the Medieval Inquisition, Bishop of Lodève, and one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages. ...

External links

• Center for Dulcinian studies of the evangelic church (in italian) organizes a yearly Dulcinian meeting in the places where the last battle took place and is preparing the celebrations for the 700th anniversary

Bibliography

• Anonymous Syncronous, "Historia Fratris Dulcini Heresiarche Novariensis ab A.C. 1304 usque ad A. 1307"
• Bernardo Gui, "De secta illorum qui se dicunt esse de ordine apostolorum"
• "Additamentum ad Historiam fratris Dulcini, haeretici" ab auctore coevo scriptum
• Muratori L., "Raccolta degli Storici Italiani dal 500 al 1500", collects the previous 3 documents, book IX, part V, Città di Castello, C.E.S. Lapi, 1907.
• Johann Lorenz von Mosheim "Geschichte des Apostel-Ordens in dreien Büchern" in "Versuch eines unparteischen und gründlichen Ketzergeschichte", Helmstaedt 1748.
• Mariotti L. (Antonio Gallenga), "Historial memoir of Fra Dolcino and his times", Brown, London 1853, pp.XII-376.
• Orioli Raniero, "Venit perfidus heresiarca. Il movimento apostolico-dolciniano dal 1260 al 1307", Roma 1988.
• Berkhout, Carl T. and Jeffrey B. Russell. "Medieval heresies: a bibliography, 1960-1979." in Subsidia mediaevalia, 11. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1981 (entries Apostolici, Dolcino, Margaret, Segarelli)
• Jerry B. Pierce, "Apocalyptic Poverty: Gerard Segarelli, Fra Dolcino and the Legitimization of Deviance among the Order of Apostles, 1260-1307"
• Antonio Labriola, "Socialism and Philosophy" (HTML at marxists.org), Chapter IX, 1897